My KTM 400 hasn't been out of the shed in years but I'm looking to give it some TLC over the holidays to get it roadworthy again and perhaps join a club next year to get some rides on it.

The Pirelli MT21's I had on it still have tread but are way too old to be safe on the road anymore. What are people finding to be a good setup for conditions in SA? My riding opportunities have been so limited I don't even know if I should be looking at soft, intermediate or hard pack tyres. At my age and ability I'd be leaning towards budget/durability over outright performance.

I do have a second set of wheels for when the budget allows to get another set of tyres so one set could be purely for off road work and the other for some light adventure/exploring which would include some bitumen to get to the dirt.
Any suggestions on what others have found to be a good choice in any of those scenarios would be much appreciated.

Not sure yet where I'll be riding. One of the reasons the bike has been unused for so long is I didn't have any access to private property anymore for good dirt rides. Figure I'll have to join a club to do that, probably Gawler as I'm in the northern suburbs near Elizabeth. That's where I'd leave from for some light adventure rides out around One Tree Hill, Barossa and Gawler areas.

Ive run Motoz mountain hybrid on both ends of my bike for tar, dirt roads and fire trails. Very happy with performance and tread life. If you do go this way get the 110/100x18 rear, the 120/100 is too big for our bike (single cyl trail bikes)

Thanks for the suggestions guys - especially about DOT legal tyres, even for the more aggressive dirt tyre set. Makes sense to have something that would be OK for an organised event, even if I'm "participating" rather than "racing".

Have seen Michelin AC10 mentioned in a few old posts I searched - are they intended for predominantly hard or soft terrain? What's the wear rate like?

What about the front tyre? My KTM is the first of the RFS series, which all of the reviews at the time criticised the poor steering geometry. Terry Hay and others suggested a different offset triple clamp fixed it, but my budget never stretched that far, and I still haven't found a secondhand set with 17mm offset. I know my technique is quite ordinary, but any extra grip I can get from a good front tyre choice would help a lot.

I've got a KTM exc 400 2000 model that i do a fair bit of High Country rides on & love it, i know when i first got it, it was harsh & had bad headshake, i had the forks & shock revalved by SPMX in Vic & i had no problems keeping up with some 2018 Husqvarna 501 on the last 2 rides.
I have put a 453 kit in it which makes it really easy & fun to ride i'm only about 5'5" & 75kgs so i run the forks with the second line @ the top of the top yoke, i have also installed XTRIG PHDS system on the top yoke which i think helps a fair bit, i always have other riders saying the bike can't be that old because it handles & goes so well.
I'm glad i never sold it because for me it the perfect High Country bike !

Saw a good deal on Motoz Tractionator Enduro front and rear set in either soft or hard terrain.
Anyone tried these around SA riding areas? What did you think? All the blurb for all the tyre brands says they're the best thing since sliced bread so keen to hear some real world preferences.

I ran the tractionator enduro soft front tyre once. Performance off road was fine, but I used it for tar and dirt......wore quicker than I wanted. This isn't the fault of the tyre, wrong tyre for my purpose. Hence my swap to the hybrid.

As a general rule if unsure of terrain you'll be riding, fit a soft to soft/intermediate front matched with hard to hard /intermediate rear.

You've said the Tractionators are a good price so probably best to fit them and assesss them for your purpose. If worst comes to worst it'll be the front you'll want to swap rather than the rear. At least you'll then have some experience of what terrain and riding you'll be doing.

As a side note do you intend to
1) compete off road
2) ride hard core off road
3) ride relaxed fire trail, dirt road with a smattering of tar to link it all together?

Thanks Oldscool, more good advice. I expect most of my riding will be no. 3, exploring dirt roads and tracks with some bitumen. I hope to have some proper dirt rides too (no. 1, but without being a serious competitor), and realise the 2 types of riding will probably need different tyres. When I can afford it I could get an alternate set for my second set of wheels (with a Cush hub). Just looking to benefit from others' experiences as I can't afford to take a gamble on something that turns out to be not fit for my purpose.